


christmas eve alone this year.

by pyroallerdyce



Series: i have an obsession with fire and ice (aka all my john/bobby fics) [55]
Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe -Modern Setting, Christmas, Conversations, December writing challenge, Estrangement, Family Issues, First Meetings, Gay Character, Gay Male Character, Grocery Shopping, Grocery Store, Implied/Referenced Sex, Inspired by Music, M/M, Neighbors, Pre-Relationship, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Relationship(s), Short One Shot, Tumblr Prompt, Wordcount: 1.000-3.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:02:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27959606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyroallerdyce/pseuds/pyroallerdyce
Summary: But as the number of days to the actual holiday slowly ticked down, John became more and more depressed.  This was the first Christmas since he’d come out to his parents, and his parents had been complete and total homophobic assholes about it, so he was on his own.  No family to spend the holiday with, friends that all had other plans, and no boyfriend to speak of.So, like he’d been thinking, Christmas was going to suck.or:  it's John's first Christmas after his estrangement from his family, he's just moved into a new apartment, and he runs into his gorgeous new neighbor at the grocery store.
Relationships: John Allerdyce/Bobby Drake
Series: i have an obsession with fire and ice (aka all my john/bobby fics) [55]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1202506
Kudos: 7
Collections: December Writing Challenge - 2020





	christmas eve alone this year.

**Author's Note:**

> December writing challenge day 8 and we're here with another X-Men fic that is probably terrible. It's been so long since I've written these guys that I've completely lost my audience and I know it. But here I am regardless. Let's see if this goes alright.
> 
> I don't like the ending of this one but I can't make it better either. 
> 
> And as always, if you like what you read and you want to see more, please let me know via a comment or kudos or bookmark so that I know I'm not writing into a void. Enjoy!
> 
> December 8 Prompt - We’re neighbors and I noticed you’re spending the holidays alone and so am I. (sorry but I lost whose prompt this is!)  
> Title: Christmas Eve Alone This Year by Lewis Watson

Christmas was going to suck.

That was John’s abiding thought as December approached, so he concentrated on other things. He went apartment hunting towards the end of November because his lease was up and he wanted to get away from his creepy neighbors, found one in a good building, and then he moved in during the first week of December. He somehow ended up with the corner apartment, so he had a neighbor to his left but not his right, and he saw the guy a few times but never had time to actually stop and introduce himself.

Plus the guy was gorgeous and he needed a bit of time before he talked to him. His neighbor was more than likely straight, but on the off chance that he wasn’t, John wanted to be sure he made a good first impression. Hell, he needed to make a good first impression regardless. They were going to be living next to each other for a while.

But as the number of days to the actual holiday slowly ticked down, John became more and more depressed. This was the first Christmas since he’d come out to his parents, and his parents had been complete and total homophobic assholes about it, so he was on his own. No family to spend the holiday with, friends that all had other plans, and no boyfriend to speak of.

So, like he’d been thinking, Christmas was going to suck.

As he prepared to spend Christmas Eve alone for the first time in his life, he realized that he probably should make sure that he had stuff to eat since everything was going to be closed on Christmas Day. So he bundled up for the cold and headed out towards the corner store. He waved at the checker who called out a friendly hello when he walked in, telling himself that he needed to learn her name.

John may be a lot of things, but rude was not one of them.

He grabbed a basket and looked around. He had decided that spending Christmas Day blind drunk was probably the best way to cope, so he headed to the liquor aisle first. He’d figure out something to make that complemented whatever drink of choice he ended up getting. 

Oh, who was he kidding? It was going to be small-batch whiskey. It was always small-batch whiskey.

When he turned down the right aisle, he looked up to find that his neighbor was perusing bottles at the other end of it, and John was surprised. He had assumed that everyone on his floor had left for the holidays given how quiet the last two days had been, but apparently, he was wrong. The man looked at him after a moment, and John nodded in his direction. There would be a time for this first meeting, but it probably wasn’t a good idea to have it be on this day. John wanted to be in a much better mood for that.

So, of course, the man started walking towards him. “Hey,” he said to John. “You’re my new neighbor, right?”

“That’s me,” John said. “Nice to finally meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. I’m sorry it’s taken this long. I’ve just been so busy at work that I’ve barely had time to breathe,” the man said, holding out his hand. “I’m Bobby.”

“John,” he replied as he shook it. “Wasn’t expecting to see you here. I thought you were gone for the holidays like the rest of the floor is.”

“Yeah, the floor really empties this time of year,” Bobby said, “but my family and I don’t get along so I usually am the only one there. What about you? Leaving in the morning?”

“Oh no,” John said, shaking his head. “My parents and I are at a permanent impasse, which basically means that I’m gay and they hate me for it. So I’ll be at home getting drunk.”

“I’m sorry to hear that your parents are like that,” Bobby said. “I wish you didn’t have to know this pain. I’ve been living with it for three years now. How long has it been for you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Six months,” John answered, trying to process what Bobby had just said. “I haven’t met anyone else that’s gone through this before.”

“Any time you want to talk about it, just let me know,” Bobby replied. “That first holiday season can be rough. Well, they all are, but that first one is brutal.”

“Thanks, Bobby. I appreciate that.”

“You finished shopping?” 

“Just got here and went straight for the whiskey.”

Bobby laughed and held up the bottle in his hands. “Vodka was the first thing I went for too. Do you know where stuff is in here yet?”

“Nope,” John said, looking around. “I’ve been just stopping in the store over by work because it’s been easier with the way that things have been going.”

Bobby smiled. “Well, this place is laid out like a clusterfuck, so do you want a tour? Once you get it memorized, it won’t be a big deal, but until then, you’re likely to spend way too long looking for something.”

John smiled back. “That would be great.”

They walked around the store together, learned more about each other, and by the time they headed their separate ways, they had decided they would spend Christmas getting drunk together. John headed back to his apartment thinking about Bobby’s beautiful blue eyes, knowing that concentrating on how gorgeous his neighbor was would be pointless.

Guys like him didn’t get guys like that.

By trying not to think about Bobby’s eyes, John succeeded in making himself think of nothing but his parents, which was not what he wanted at all. He thought of them all afternoon, and then during dinner. He hated that they could stll get to him the way that they were. Fuck them. Fuck them so much.

He stood up to find an open bottle to get drunk with so that he could save his new one for getting drunk with Bobby, but before he made it to the kitchen, there was a knock at his door. He opened it to find Bobby with an invitation to come over for cookies and hot chocolate, and he jumped at the chance.

He jumped at the unexpected chance of sex a few hours later too.

They barely left Bobby’s bed on Christmas Day, talked through all kinds of shit about how John was feeling in between fucks, and by the time John set foot in his apartment again, he felt like he’d actually connected with someone for once. He’d never connected with anyone before, not in any sort of meaningful way. But John could tell that getting to know him was something that was going to be worthwhile, even if they’d likely never fuck again. 

Bobby might have humored him over Christmas, but guys like John still didn’t get guys like that.

But then Bobby invited John over for dinner, and then to go with him to his friends New Year’s Eve party, and then to a Rangers game at Madison Square Garden. So John responded by taking Bobby to get a sandwich at what he considered the best deli in the city, and then to Jubilee’s twenty-fifth birthday party, and then to spend the day listening to John ramble on about art he loved at the Museum of Modern Art. 

Before John even realized what was happening, he was in a relationship.

And then he realized he was in love for the first time.

It terrified him.

But as Christmas Eve rolled around again, John sat down next to Bobby on the sofa in the corner apartment that they now shared, had some cookies and hot chocolate, watched _It’s a Wonderful Life_ , and realized that all was right in the world. They hadn’t had the conversation about whether this was it, but John knew the answer regardless. 

Bobby was his future, and he’d never spend Christmas alone again.


End file.
